Claremont McKenna College

Cultural Differences in Health and Health Practices: Why Does It Matter?

ANITA HUNTER

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2002

In the United States it is not particularly hard to find a doctor-it is estimated that there is one doctor for every 300 Americans. However, in Ghana, the rural areas generally have one doctor for every 100,000 residents. Therefore, the arrival of the Clemson-led health care team, led by Dr. Anita Hunter, into Ghana in July of 2001 was of extreme importance. In areas such as West Africa and Northern lreland-another destination of the Clemson team - Hunter has seen children suffering starvation, disease, and death, In these areas, health problems are not only caused by bacteria or viruses: they are also caused by social, political, and cultural factors. In her Athenaeum lecture, Hunter will discuss what we can do to help these future adults of the world survive.

Hunter is an Assistant Professor at Clemson University, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and is actively involved with international nursing. She has helped train over 100 community health educators in Ghana and currently serves as a health consultant to the Minister of Health for the Western Region of Ghana. She has been leading health-related mission trips to Ghana for six years and has taken approximately 300 students and other health professionals to this community to provide care.

In addition, Dr. Hunter is an active member of the American Nurses Association, National Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Associates, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, National Association of Nurse Practitioner Faculties as well as the Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners.
Moreover, Hunter developed the Adolescent Resilience Screening Instrument, which is being used successfully in Ghana, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, Cuba, Canada, and various sites across the United States. It is used to identify resilient practices that could lead to maladaptive or psychopathological behaviors like those exhibited at Columbine school shooting. Currently her work is being used as a framework for an NIH grant addressing violence prevention.

In 1994 Hunter won the University of Connecticut's Outstanding Professional Award for her groundbreaking study in the field of adolescent resilience, the development of culturally competent college graduates, and work in addressing international health care issues related to infant morbidity and mortality. Other honors and awards she has received include the Writing Excellence Award from SC Nurse in 2001, the Teaching Excellence Award from the Clemson School of Nursing in 2001, and membership in the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society since 1985.